Aina

Aina took SF by storm at the beginning of the year as it seemingly appeared out of thin air. Located in the Dogpatch, Aina serves modern Hawaiian cuisine for brunch and dinner. Their brunch, which can be followed at @ainabrunch, is what put this small eatery on the SF food map.

The space is small, so be prepared to wait – I went on a Friday around 11AM and still waited over an hour. However, the restaurant is bright and hip, lined with wood and small plants, and the fun attire of the staff – Hawaiian shirts – adds to the tropical charm of Aina.

Their two most well known (aka most Instagrammed) dishes are the Malasadas, Portuguese doughnuts filled with guava custard, and the Kalbi Loco Moco, pictured below.

The food was incredibly flavorful and full of beautiful colors. The meat was tender and the eggs were cooked to perfection. I ordered the Kalua Pork Belly, which came with two poached eggs on rice and asparagus.

The highlight of our meal, since we picked a savory appetizer over the Malasadas, was the Breakfast Potatoes, which had aioli and furikake drizzled on them. The potatoes were perfect for breakfast and had a great mixture of sweet from the aioli with tang and spice from the furikake.

Aina was great, although it was a bit on the pricier side (for small portions) and the wait was longer than I had anticipated. I can’t imagine how long the wait would be on the weekends, but it’s definitely worth the visit if you are able to go early or have a lot of time to brunch!